Anthea Bell

Anthea BellOBE (born 1936) is an English translator who has translated numerous literary works, especially children's literature, from French, German and Danish to English.[1] She is known for her numerous translations, including Austerlitz, one of the most significant German language works of fiction for the period since World War II, and of the French Asterix comics along with co-translator Derek Hockridge.

She lives and works in Cambridge. One of her two sons is Oliver Kamm, who is a leader writer for The Times. Her brother, Martin Bell, is a former BBC correspondent who was an independent Member of Parliament for one parliamentary term.

Anthea Bell has translated numerous Franco-Belgian comics of the bande dessinée genre into English, including Asterix – for which her new puns have been critically acclaimed for keeping the original French spirit intact. Peter Hunt, now Professor Emeritus in Children's Literature at Cardiff University, has written of her "ingenious translations" of the French originals which "in a way display the art of the translator at its best".[3] Other comic books she has translated include Le Petit Nicolas, Lieutenant Blueberry, and Iznogoud.

The Mildred L. Batchelder Award is unusual in that it is given to a publisher yet it explicitly references a given work, its translator and author. Its intent is to encourage the translation of children's works into English in order "to eliminate barriers to understanding between people of different cultures, races, nations, and languages."

Anthea Bell, translating from German, French and Danish, has been referenced for more works than any other (including publishers) in the history of the award: